Greyhound 5

Gaston Elementary and Columbia River Maritime Museum

Updates:

1st Voyage

Greyhound 5 is a miniboat built by students of Mrs. Ruiz and Mrs LaCasse’s 5th grade classes at Gaston Elementary. The name was chosen to honor the school’s greyhound mascot. With a patriotic sail and red hull, this is an unmistakably American miniboat. Greyhound 5 was christened along with Wolverine in a ceremony at Columbia River Maritime Museum on Dec 19th. After many weather delays, Greyhound 5 was delivered to the Port of Vancouver on December 27th. The deployer NYK selected the Pluto Leader, a roll on roll off ship to be the deploying vessel. After studying the winds and currents the students selected a deployment location near the east coast of Japan. Weather again shifted the plans for the Pluto Leader. Captain Zapanta suggested a more southerly deployment location around 32 degrees North and 147 degrees East. Greyhound 5 was launched in cloudy weather and moderate seas on January 25th at 6:21 UTC, 10:21pm in PST. The launch coordinates are 32 degrees North and 147 degrees East from the Pluto Leader at 3.2 knots, on a westerly bearing. We hope for fair winds and a soft landing for Greyhound 5.

 

Click on the titles below to dive in further to the adventure so far

  • December 19, 2024 Update

    Built and christened, now time to launch! Two more miniboats have been added to the Columbia River Maritime Museum fleet.

    Following ten weeks of directed in-classroom instruction by Olive DelSol, the museum’s Boat Educator, the christening ceremony brought together nearly 150 people to celebrate before the boats are loaded and launched into the Pacific. The morning ceremony included refreshments, photo opportunities, maritime traditions, and students sharing about their experiences.

    “The miniboat program was interesting because we got to do lots of hands-on things that we usually don’t get to do in school,” one Gaston student remarked.

    Gaston Elementary 5th graders christened S/V Greyhound 5.
    Wallace Elementary 5th graders christened S/V Wolverine.

    In addition to the classrooms that built the boats, Wallace’s entire 5th grade attended as well as Jewell Elementary School’s 5th/6th grade classroom, a miniboat host classroom from school year 2023-2024. There were many family members in attendance to christen these vessels into the fleet and support their youth’s project.

    “We are building a miniboat community,” Katy Menne, Education Director shared.

    Both will be launched by NYK’s Pluto Leader, a roll-on roll-off carrier, outbound from the Port of Vancouver next week. These uncrewed miniboats are equipped with GPS trackers that anyone can access and follow on their journey.

    “Greyhound 5 and Wolverine will be launched together. This gives students a chance to hypothesize whether the boats will travel the same path and brainstorm why or why not,” DelSol comments. “We got a chance to vote for the launch site. The number one choice for both schools was southwest of the Aleutian Islands, the second choice was off the east coast of Japan.”

     

     

     

  • December 27, 2024 - Delivered to the NYK Lines Ship

    The Wolverine and Greyhound 5 were delivered to the docks and boarded the NYK’s Pluto Leader. They were received by Captain Charlie V. Zapanta. There are a couple planned stops in California before they make their trans-pacific crossing.

       

  • January 25, 2025 - Miniboats Launched!

    The Wolverine and Greyhound 5 were launched of the east coast of Japan on January 25, 2025 by the crew of the NYK Pluto Leader thanks to Captain Zapanta and crew.

  • Voyage 1 in Progress

    Click on the titles above to explore more